


In Time

by JohnlockTheDoctor



Category: Doctor Who, In Time (2011)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Future Fic, Minor Character Death(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 20:24:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3460847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JohnlockTheDoctor/pseuds/JohnlockTheDoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based in a future where people stop ageing at 25, but are engineered to live only one more year, having the means to buy your way out of the situation is a shot at immortal youth. Here, Rose Tyler finds herself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage - a connection that becomes an important part of the way against the system. A cross over between the film In Time and the TV show Doctor Who.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

You didn't have time to worry.  
No one had time to worry over the age of 25. Well, that is if you live in the ghetto. Time is the currency. You were genetically engineered to live until 26 years old and that was it. Unless you bought, stole of begged your way out of it. But in the ghetto, people literally lived day to day. Whereas in New Greenwich, they were practically immortal.

Rose Tyler had turned 25 exactly 143 days ago. She remembered this by the exact second, as everyone did. On your 25th birthday, the clock, built into ones arm starts to count down and that face staring back at you in the mirror is what you are going to look like for the rest of your life. It counts down from 365 days unless you earn more. Rose remembered it happening. She was just walking down the street, walking back from the laundrette where she worked and it nearly knocked her over. Then that was it. She had to earn her time from then on. The laundrette would finally start paying her. They’d pay her in hours, or days, however long she worked. Her first year was almost entirely spent in just under a week to help pay off her mother’s debts, the rent and used to buy food for them to eat. She just about earned enough to have 24 hours on her clock every day.

“Happy birthday mum”, Rose smiled, pulling her into a tight hug, “50 today.”

Jackie laughed, “Oi you! You mean 25!”

Rose laughed back, planting a kiss on her mother’s forehead, “fine, 25 years old for 25 years.”

Jackie smiled, checking her clock, “what have you got?”

Rose looked down, her clock read 23 hours.

“Here, take half an hour. Have a decent lunch, yeah? I'm out in the garment district doing some work. I have 3 days. I won’t have long when I get back so meet me at the bus stop outside on Tuesday okay love?”, Jackie said as she pressed her wrist to Rose’s transferring over 30 minutes.

Rose nodded and pulled on her jacket, “I’ll see you then!” she shouted as she ran out of the door and off to work.

People in the ghetto ran. They ran everywhere. They had to. No one had enough time to walk places. Also, it was easier that way. There wasn't enough jobs to go round in the ghetto so people stole time to stay alive. You had to run. It kept you alive.

Rose ran back from work, stepping over a body that had timed out and someone had just left there lying in the street. She stopped outside a bar and sighed, looking down at her clock. 15 hours.

She ran in and stopped at the bar.

“Vodka and tonic please.” she mumbled, holding out her arm.

The man behind the bar pressed a metal scanner to her wrist, bringing her time down 3 minutes.

“Rose!” a voice shouted, slightly slurring their words, “this guy’s buying drinks for the whole bar, he’s loaded, look!”

Rose smiled fondly at Mickey. Mickey had been her friend since she was about 11 years old. They met at school and have been friends ever since. They'd both lost someone. Mickey's gran timed out and so did Rose's dad. Rose scowled at the man sitting a few seats away from her friend. The man wore a short sleeved shirt and was surrounded by women.

Everyone wore long sleeves. You couldn't risk people seeing your time. It made you a vulnerable.

“Let’s get you home Mickey.” Rose said, continuing to stare at the man.

“Just let me finish this last one Rose!” Mickey whined.

Rose ignored him, walking over to the man at the other end of the bar. He had over a century on his arm. Rose leant close to him and whispered in his ear, “You have no idea how much danger you’re in. You’ve got to get out of here, or at least hide your arm.”

The man looked up at her, “I can handle this.”

Just as he spoke, the bar doors burst open and 4 men came in. They were all carrying guns.

The whole bar erupted into chaos and everyone ran out of the doors, screaming, clutching onto their arms for dear life. Mickey grabbed hold of Rose and they ran out into the back room. The man at the bar just sat there.

“There’s a fire exit, come on!” Mickey said, tugging Rose’s arm.

Rose shook her head.

“I need to stay here.”

Mickey sighed, “Just don’t do anything stupid.”

Rose stood there, peering through the door way. The rich man still sat there, staring at this 4 men. The one in front began to speak.

“That sir, is a very nice watch. Do you mind if I try it on? I think it would suit me.”

Rose held her breath, keeping as still as she could.

“I’ll tell you what”, the man with the gun said, “I’ll fight you for it. Come on. I'm an old man. I turned 75 last week.”

The man at the bar wretched.

“I need a minute.”

The man ran to the toilets and Rose jumped back and pressed herself flat against the wall in the shadows.

One of the gun men followed the man into the bathroom and Rose let out a shaky breath. She had to do something.  
She walked over to the door of the bathroom and peered through the crack in the door. The gunman was standing right next to it. Rose put a foot up against the middle of the door as well as both of her hands and used as much force as she could muster up to slam it open. It hit the gunman standing behind it and he fell to the floor.  
She’d knocked him out.

“Come on!” she hissed as she pulled the man up off the bathroom floor where he had been vomiting into the toilet bowl, “Let’s get out of here”.

The man stood up, “I had this under control”.

Rose laughed, “It looked like it”.

They both ran out of the bar and the three remaining men shouted after them as they ran off down the street. Jumping over fences and slipping down the side of houses and shops.

“Don’t stop.” She panted, running around the corner to the row of houses that she lived in.  
“In here, hurry!” She said as she threw the door open, pushing the man inside before slamming it shut and locking it.

They walked up the stairs as they heard the men outside knocking on the doors of the houses, searching for the stranger she had just let into her house.

Rose nodded towards the chair in the middle of the room. The man sat down and she sat in the one opposite.

“Captain Jack Harkness”, the man said, still slightly out of breath.

Rose nodded, letting her lip curl up into a slight smile.

“Rose Tyler.”

He held out a hip flask and Rose took a swig before grimacing.

“It gets better the more you drink”, the Captain said.

Rose took another gulp of the alcoholic liquid and shook her head.

“Hardly.”

The Captain laughed and Rose finally took in what he was wearing. He sat there in navy trousers and a light blue shirt. The trousers were held up by a pair of brown braces and over that was a navy coat with large shiny buttons. He dressed like he was from a different time all together.

“You’ll be safe here until morning.” Rose mumbled as she struggled to get comfy in the chair she sat in. Her mum had found it outside in a skip yet she never told anyone that. Rose hated it.

The Captain only nodded. Looking around the empty room which Rose called home.

“You’re from New Greenwich.” Rose said.

“Does it show?” The Captain laughed, catching her eye.

Rose smiled as she looked down at her clock. 14 hours, “nah”.

The Captain raised his eyebrows, “looks like you could do with some help yourself.”

Rose shook her head, “no thanks.”

“I’m 105. In real time.”

Rose stood up and walked towards the window, “good for you”.

She heard the Captain huff a laugh behind her, “we need to die. We’re not supposed to live forever”.

Rose turned around, “Is that your problem? You’ve lived too long?”

The Captain sighed, “Everyone can't live forever. Where would we put them? Why do you think there are Time Zones? Why do you think taxes and prices go up the same day in the ghetto? The cost of living keeps rising to make sure people keep dying. How else could there be men with a million years while most live day to day?”

Rose stayed quiet but sat back down in her chair.

“But the truth is there's more than enough. No one has to die before their time.  
If you had as much time as I have on that clock, what would you do with it?”

Rose raised an eyebrow, “I’d make sure I didn’t waste it.”


	2. Chapter 2

Rose awoke with a start as the sun hit her face, shining through the windows that didn’t and never did have curtains. She looked over to the chair opposite where both her and the stranger, Captain Jack Harkness fell asleep. 

Except he wasn’t there any more.

Rose quickly yanked her sleeve up and gasped loudly.

Her clock read just over a century. 

She looked around the flat and noticed a message, written on the window in the dust that was gathered there.

_‘Don’t waste it’_

She squinted and could see the man, Captain Jack Harkness sitting on the edge of a bridge in the distance. 

“No”, she gasped and made a run for it.

Rose ran out the door and ran as fast as she could. She skidded round the corner and leapt over a body lying in the middle of the road that had timed out.

As she got to the bridge, the Captain was no longer there.

Rose ran up to the edge and looked over. There was the Captain, face down in the water below, floating away along the current.

Rose looked up at the camera watching her and made a run for it. She didn’t want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

*************************************************************

People timing out wasn’t unusual in the ghetto. There were bodies all over the place. People didn’t move them sometimes for days. But Captain Jack Harkness was practically immortal. He had 100 years on the clock. He could have invested in more, he was rich. Though he was right and it made Rose think. The rich shouldn’t get to live longer then the poor. They shouldn’t get all of the time. If it were shared out equally then everyone would live to at least 50. The system wasn't fair.

Rose walked out of the shop where she’d just bought some flowers. She never bought things for her mother, she never had enough time. Flowers, a nice bouquet were usually around 2 days at least. Rose spent 3, she thought her mother deserved it. 

She walked over and stood at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to arrive. Her and her mother could finally pay off all their debts and the bills they owed from well over a month ago. She’d also treat herself to some new clothes and maybe even get them both moved out of the ghetto. It’ll be safer for them both.

The bus drove round the corner and Rose grinned. When she told her mother the years they had it would change their lives. The bus stopped and two people got off. 

But not Rose’s mother.

Rose watched the bus drive off and dropped the flowers. 

Her mother wouldn’t have enough time to walk here.

She set off in a sprint, running as fast as she had ever run in her whole entire life. She had to get there in time. She wasn’t ready to have two people she knew time out within 2 days. 

Especially her own mother.

As she turned the corner she caught sight of a small figure running in her direction.

“Mum?” She shouted, sprinting towards the running figure.

“Rose!” Her mum shouted back, gasping for air as she continued to run.

“Mum!” Rose screamed as her mum fell forward into her arms.

The green clock on her arm turned to black. 

13 zeros.

Her mother had timed out.

“No!” Rose screamed as tears streamed down her face.

“NO!” She sobbed as she dropped to her knees and held her mother tight in her arms.

*************************************************************

Rose knocked on Mickey’s door and Martha answered, holding their child in her arms. 

“Is Mickey in?” Rose said, looking down at the small child.

“Mickey!” She called out as she rocked the baby in her arms, “a year on the clock and we can’t use it until she’s 25. We could do with that right now”.

Rose let out a soft laugh, thankful for Mickey appearing to get out of the small talk. 

She jogged down the steps and took him round the back of their house. 

“How long have we been friends?” She said, smiling.

Mickey shrugged, “I don’t know. 15 or so years?”

Rose grinned and pressed her wrist to Mickeys. His 13 hours went up to 15 years.

“Rose!” He hissed.

“Where did you get all this!”

Rose smiled, “the man in the bar. He gave it to me. Now I’ve got to go. I’m going to New Greenwich.”

*************************************************************

The taxi pulled up outside Rose’s house.

“Am I in the right place?” The man asked, “We don’t usually do pickups from this zone”.

Rose got in the car and shrugged.

“I was lost.”

The man nodded and drove off. 

As the car passed through each zone, Rose has to deposit a small amount of time to pass through. It went from a month until a year as they reached New Greenwich.

“What are you really doing here, Miss?” The driver asked.

Rose looked him in the eye.

“I’m going to take them for everything they've got. I’m going to make them pay.”


End file.
